Author Topic: Early Guidance Systems Question  (Read 24966 times)

Offline DonPMitchell

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Early Guidance Systems Question
« on: July 28, 2007, 02:38:33 PM »
In the good old days, was the pitch of the rocket controlled by the gyrohorizon or the gyroverticant?

I think the horizon did pitch, and yaw and roll were monitored by the verticant.

I'm writing an article for the 50th anniversary of Sputnik.  Amazing how sophisticated and how primitive Russian rocket technology was.  Mathematicians and computers would labor to calculate an optimal pitch program for orbital insertion.  Then this would be carved onto a shaped cog that actually controlled the rocket's pitch angle!  What they called a "cyclogram".
Never send a human to do a machine's job.
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Offline Satanic Mechanic

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Re: Early Guidance Systems Question
« Reply #1 on: July 31, 2007, 01:47:33 PM »
In the good old days, was the pitch of the rocket controlled by the gyrohorizon or the gyroverticant?

I think the horizon did pitch, and yaw and roll were monitored by the verticant.

I'm writing an article for the 50th anniversary of Sputnik.  Amazing how sophisticated and how primitive Russian rocket technology was.  Mathematicians and computers would labor to calculate an optimal pitch program for orbital insertion.  Then this would be carved onto a shaped cog that actually controlled the rocket's pitch angle!  What they called a "cyclogram".

You are talking about the R-7 right?  Let me look in my books, I doubt there is that much detail but I will take a look.

SM

Offline Satanic Mechanic

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Re: Early Guidance Systems Question
« Reply #2 on: August 01, 2007, 03:12:13 PM »
Not enough info in my books.  Maybe you can buy the plans before the government confiscates them! :lol:

Offline Satanic Mechanic

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Re: Early Guidance Systems Question
« Reply #3 on: August 01, 2007, 03:17:24 PM »
Crap!  Looked on Astronautix and look what I find:
1960 October 10 - 14:27 GMT - Launch Site: Baikonur. Launch Complex: LC1. Launch Pad: LC1. Launch Vehicle: Molniya 8K78. Model: Molniya 8K78. LV Configuration: Molniya 8K78 L1-4M. FAILURE: At T+300.9 sec, the launcher went out of control and the destruct command was given at T+324.2 sec - the engine of Stage 3 cut off after 13.32 s of burning.
Mars probe 1M s/n 1 failure. Nation: USSR. Program: Mars. Payload: 1M s/n 1. Mass: 640 kg (1,410 lb). Class: Planetary. Type: Mars. Spacecraft: Mars 1M. Agency: RVSN. COSPAR: F601010A. Decay Date: 1960-10-10. This was the Soviet Union's first attempt at a planetary probe. Mars probe intended to photograph Mars on a flyby trajectory. The possible cause lay in resonance vibrations of upper stages during Stage 2 burning, which led to break of contact in the command potentiometer of the gyrohorizon. As a result a pitch control malfunctioned and the launcher began to veer off the desired ascent profile. On exceeding 7 degrees of veering in pitch, the control system failed. The upper stage with the payload reached an altitude of 120 km before burning up on re-entry into the atmosphere above East Siberia.References: 5, 64, 65, 118, 296.

Offline DonPMitchell

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Re: Early Guidance Systems Question
« Reply #4 on: August 01, 2007, 04:26:44 PM »
There you go!  Thanks.  That is most likely taken from Boris Chertok's book, which is full of very honest technical details like that.  The R-7 pitch was programmed by a cyclogram cog, a shaped piece of plastic.  The gyrohorizon made sure the rocket followed that program.  Yaw and roll were kept at zero.

The entire R-7 and its support truss rotated on a giant turntable on the launch pad.  In case you were wondering how the azimuth is set!

Never send a human to do a machine's job.
  - Agent Smith